charades

/ (ʃəˈrɑːdz) /

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noun

(functioning as singular) a parlour game in which one team acts out each syllable of a word, the other team having to guess the word

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Word Origin for charades

C18: from French charade entertainment, from Provençal charrado chat, from charra chatter, of imitative origin

Words nearby charades

character type, character witness, charactery, charactonym, charade, charades, charanga, charango, charas, Charcas, charco

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use charades in a sentence

Hers was “a culture of silences, reticences, charades and circumlocutions.”
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun|Katie Baker|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Just a few episodes before we were laughing and playing Charades, and now I have to knock her out.
‘Orange Is the New Black’ Star Uzo Aduba on Her Journey From Track Phenom to Crazy Eyes|Marlow Stern|June 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Suddenly Farrah and I are playing charades,” Letterman said at one point, half fond, half exasperated.
Farrah's Brainy Side|Amy Wallace|June 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Under the same head as private theatricals may come dramatized charades and proverbs, so much in fashion at the present time.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley

The children were old enough now to take part in a form of entertainment that gave him and them especial pleasure-acting charades.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine
Then followed the holidays, with parties and dances and charades, and little plays, with the Warner and Twichell children.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine
There were pantomimes and charades, in which Mark Twain and his daughters always had star parts.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine
The guests were talking of having a few tableaux and charades, like some they had seen arranged by their older sisters.
Dotty Dimple At Home|Sophie May

charades

Word Origin for charades

Words nearby charades

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How to use charades in a sentence